Three women were rushed to the hospital early this morning following a traffic accident on South Street at Rutgers Slip. It happened around 6:40 a.m. when a car hit the pedestrians, who were attempting to cross South Street. One of the women is listed in critical condition at Bellevue Hospital. The two other women are in serious condition. All of the victims are in their 60’s.
Police indicate the driver will not faces charges, although an investigation is continuing.
UPDATE 3:50 P.M. This afternoon City Council member Margaret Chin put out a statement regarding the accident. It noted that more residents are now walking across South Street to use the recently renovated esplanade. Chin is calling on the Department of Transportation to conduct a safety review of the intersection and other “pedestrian access points” along the esplanade:
My thoughts are with these three women and their families, especially the woman who suffered more serious injuries and is now in critical condition… I hope with all my heart that no lives are lost as the result of this terrible accident. My office was told that the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad is currently looking into this incident, and I trust that there will be a thorough investigation, since these women and the residents of the Lower East Side deserve nothing less. But at this point, it is clear that we must respond to this incident with action, because the safety of our community is paramount. Recent renovations to the East River Esplanade, near the site of this accident, have had the positive impact of bringing many more residents out to enjoy the waterfront. But with that additional pedestrian flow must come heightened scrutiny of all access points leading into the Esplanade, including the intersection at South Street and Rutgers Slip. That’s why I’m calling on the Department of Transportation to conduct a full traffic safety review of this site and the surrounding intersections, to make sure we are doing all we can to keep our Lower East Side residents safe as they enter the Esplanade. I will soon be in contact with DOT to discuss conducting a safety review of these sites as soon as possible.
We posted the following on DNAinfo’s article yesterday afternoon and are please City Council member Chin agrees with our recommended course of action:
“This run of South Street has been dangerous for quite some
time particularly in days before the recent renovations on the East River
Esplanade. Now that the waterfront has become quite an attraction people cross
South Street with increasing frequency.
Though there needs to be more full-fledged crossings with
crosswalks and potentially lights along the stretch between Clinton & Pike,
the alarming thing in this case is that these women were in fact in the
crosswalk. It’s not clear from the story if they had a ‘green’ light but
pedestrians have the right of way so this should not have happened either way.
This portion of South Street lets off from and is an entry way to the FDR Drive
and there is a tendency for motorists to drive as they are on a freeway.
We really need DOT to take a good look at this stretch of
South Street as work finishes on the Esplanade as there are only going to be
more and more folks crossing over and unwittingly putting themselves in harm’s
way in the process.”
TUFF-LES
I too agree that something needs to be done. Over the years, that section of the south street has seen a number of accidents to both pedestrians and cars.
No accident.